A Father's Promise
by chocolate3271
Summary: Something is going on with Erin. Frank makes her a promise he will be there with her every step of the way.
1. Chapter 1

It was Sunday evening. The family had just finished their family dinner and were resting in the living room. The television was set to a Jets game. Danny, Jamie and Frank had their eyes glued to the screen watching every play carefully. Henry sat in his favorite chair reading the paper. Sean and Jack were playing with legos on the floor. Nicki and Linda were discussing clothes. Erin was dozing off with her head on her brother's shoulder. All was well with the Reagans.

An interception during the game caused the three men watching it to start yelling at the tv startling almost everyone in the room. Once the yelling had died down Danny looks over at Erin who was amazingly still asleep.

"I can't believe she slept through you yelling right in her ear." Jamie says.

Nicki looks at her slumbering mother.

"I'm not surprised." Nicki says. "Last night we went to a movie. She fell asleep not long in and somehow slept through gunshots, sirens, yelling and car crashes."

That got Frank's attention.

"Was last night a first time thing for her?" He asks Nicki.

"No. She's been sleeping a lot more lately. I think she fell asleep at work a few days ago. She didn't say it outright but she came home with her eyes looking like they had sleep in them." Nicki says.

While the others continued watching the game Frank was reflecting back on the last few weeks with Erin. She had seemed more tired the last few times he saw. He had assumed her job was wearing her out. He had also noticed at the last few family dinners she really didn't each much. He knew she had a tendency not to eat if she was stressed. She had assured him that she was okay and wasn't too stressed. Now she had slept right through her brother's screaming right next to her ear. Erin had never been a very heavy sleeper. It only seemed to happen when she was really tired. He hadn't seen her this tired since her divorce but this time she seemed more tired than she was then.

Frank having a very organized mind. Something his daughter inherited from him he was sure. He put all these observations in a list. First she just seemed tired and bags were starting to show under her eyes. Then came the picking at her food and only eating a few bites. Then she slept through a loud movie. Now tonight she had slept through Danny's shouting. Something that even he had trouble doing. He knew all these on their own were not good but added together he had a feeling in his gut something wasn't right but he couldn't put his finger on it.

As the game came to an end the family started to go their separate ways. Jamie took off towards his apartment. Linda got the boys jackets on. Danny looks at his sleeping sister on his shoulder.

"I don't want to wake her." Danny says.

"She and Nicki can stay here tonight." Frank offers. "I'll take her upstairs so you don't wake her up."

Danny nods as his father easily picks up Erin. Carefully cradling her in his arms he takes her up to her old bedroom.

While Frank took his daughter upstairs Nicki says goodbye to Danny and Linda. After the good nights Nicki goes back to the living room where Henry was still in his chair.

"Hey stringbean." He welcomes her. "I hear you're staying here tonight."

"Yeah." She says. "Mom has been pretty tired lately. She could use the extra sleep. Maybe it'll help her feel better."

"Feel better?" He asks her.

"For the last couple of days Mom seemed like she didn't feel well. She hasn't been hungry. She's been tired like she was tonight. And her hands have been shaking. Almost like tremors. It's not constant but it's still there time to time." She tells him.

"Alright stringbean." Henry says. "It's time for bed."

"Okay Pop." Nicki says. "Good night."

The thirteen year old went up the stairs passing Frank on the way. He plops a kiss on her heads as she went up to bed.

Frank made his way back to the living room where Henry was. He sits in his chair and picks up his scotch glass.

"Is she still out?" Henry asks.

"Like a light." Frank says. "I'm worried about her."

"Let's let her sleep and see if she feels better tomorrow. From what Nicki tells me she may be fighting off the flu." Henry tells Frank.

Very late that night Erin was looking through a cabinet searching for something. Frank heard the noise and went to investigate. He found his only daughter looking through the medicine cabinet.

"Is everything okay, sweetheart?" He asks her.

"It feels like someone is using a jackhammer on my skull." Erin says not looking at him.

Frank steps into the bathroom. He reaches over her shoulder and picks up a little blue bottle. He hands it to her. She mumbled a thank you and tried to open the bottle. Frank noticed that her hands were shaking as she tried to open the bottle. He could see her getting increasingly frustrated.

"Here." Frank says taking the bottle. "Let me."

As Frank opened the lid to the blue bottle he heard a sniff from his daughter. He looked up to see tears welling in Erin's eyes. Without a moment's hesitation he pulls his little girl into his arms.

"What's wrong sweetheart?" He asks her.

"My head hurts so bad." She says into his chest. "This is so embarrassing. I'm grown woman crying over a headache into my father."

"It okay honey. I hope you know that you can get as old as you want but you'll always be my baby. You're in pain. Crying is only natural." He says trying to soothe her.

He helps her take the pain killer. He carefully holds the water glass to her lips as she drank. He could feel her body shaking against him.

She closes her eyes to try and block out the light. She felt her father pick her up. She didn't try to fight even though she was very embarrassed. She was a grown woman and her father was carrying them bed like she was a little girl. She felt him put her in her bed. She feels the blanket being put on her followed by her father kissing her head. Before she knew it she was back asleep.

Very early the next morning Erin was up and around. She had on her running clothes and was tightening her sneakers. She felt better than she did the night before. The house suddenly felt small to her. She needed some air. Linda had asked her about going running the day before. It was exactly what Erin needed even if her head still hurt.

Pouring herself a cup of coffee she looks at the clock.

5:15am. Linda would be there in a few minutes. Erin sips her coffee in the empty kitchen. The night before she hadn't eaten much and now that she thought about it she still wasn't hungry. She knew she should try to eat something after her run. The door opening she closing took her from her thoughts. Linda enters the kitchen.

"Hey Erin. Do you feel any better?" She asks.

"Yeah." Erin tells her. "A little."

Erin knew that was a lie. She felt more tired than she did the day before.

"Danny football shouted right in your ear last night and you slept right through it." Linda tells her.

"I've just been tired the last couple of days. Work has been piling up on me and it's just taking it out of me." Erin tells her.

"Are you sure you're up to this?" Linda asks. "Say the word and we can just sit here drinking coffee."

"I'm fine." Erin says. "Really."

Linda seemed to be okay with this answer. The two of them walked out the house she started jogging down the road. They make it the corner and out to the main road. It was early so there wasn't many cars on the road. Their conversation quickly turned to me as it usually did.

"You know what you should try?" Linda says.

"What's that?" Erin asks.

"Speed dating." Linda tells her.

Erin was taken aback by her answer. She immediately tells her no.

"I'll tell you what. You see that hydrant down there? If I can beat you there, you have to try speed dating." Linda challengers her.

"You're on." Erin says with a smile. "If I win you do family dinners for a month."

The two women start running down the icy sidewalk. Erin's vision started to blur around the edges as her head began throb. The hydrant started looking blurry. Suddenly her vision seemed to turn sideways as something cold hit her face. It dawns on her she was now on something cold and flat. She can hear someone calling her. She can't understand the. They sound far away and almost like they were under water. She could see a black outline of a person enter her vision.

Linda had passed Erin up in the race. She glanced back at her sister in law just in time to see her collapse. She watched in horror as Erin's head came in contact with the asphalt which made a cracking noise. Linda ran as fast as she could to Erin. She drops to her knees beside her.

"Erin come on talk to me." Linda says.

When she got no response she grabbed her cell phone. Quickly dialing 911 she did everything she could for Erin. She tells the operator where they were and what what Erin's symptoms were. An ambulance was in route. She quickly dialed another number. She knew of all people Erin would want her father with her. Taking a deep breathe she listens to the phone ring.

On the second ring Frank picks up. She didn't even give him the chance to speak.

"Frank, it's Linda. Erin collapsed on our run. She hit her head and isn't responding." Linda tells him as tears fill her eyes.

That's all Frank needed to hear. Not even bothering to put on proper clothes Frank races to where Linda said they were. He could hear sirens getting closer. Turning the corner he saw Linda kneeling beside Erin, crying. He runs to her side.

As soon as he knelt by Erin the ambulance pulled up to them. Paramedics jumped out of the back. They pulled a stretcher up and quickly got to work. Frank watched as they put a c-collar on his baby. He watched powerless as they carefully lifted her onto a spinal board. They used to Velcro straps to immobilize her. One paramedic placed an oxygen mask on her face.

"On the count of three." One paramedic says to the others.

When they reached three they lifted the spinal board onto the stretcher. They life her inside the ambulance.

"Dad." Erin gasped out.

Frank realized his hand was still holding hers as they climbed into the ambulance. He looks at his baby looking so broken on the stretcher. He gets a sinking feeling he could have done something

When the ambulance reached the hospital then quickly pulled her out and whisked her inside. She felt her father's grip loosen on her hand. That made her begin to panic.

"Dad." She manages to gasp out. "Stay."

"I'm right here." He assures her. "I'm not going anywhere. I promise."

As they rolled her into the emergency department Frank was forced to let go of her hand as they took her away. He watched ,feeling useless, as they too her through two big double doors.

"Grandpa!" A little voice called from behind him.

He turned around to see his thirteen year old granddaughter running toward him. He could see tears on the girl's face. He scoops her up into his arms.

"What happened to my Mom?" Nicki asks. "Will she be okay?"

Frank didn't have an answer for her. He wanted to know those very same answers. The rest of the Reagan family came in behind Nicki.

"Linda told us what happened." Danny said hugging his dad and niece.

The family goes to the waiting room. There was nothing left to do but wait.

The waiting was agonizing. Nicki kept staring at her hands. She often squeezed them into balls when the was scared. She could feel her fingernails digging into her palm. Her mother had to be okay. She just had to be. Nicki looks up at her grandfather who was staring at nothing. In his hands was Erin's scarf. The paramedics had removed when they stabilized her head and neck.

Frank looked over at Nicky. Rising from his chair he goes over to Nicky. Taking a seat by her he takes the scarf and puts it on Nicki's neck. For a moment Nicki was comforted by the scarf. It smelled like her mother. In its stitching Nicki could pick up the scent of her mother's perfume. A smell that was comforting. Her mother never used a lot of perfume so when Nicki could smell it, it meant her mother was holding her close. The feeling of her mother being close to her briefly helped her a relax just a little. Her attention was pulled away by a doctor entering the waiting room.

"Is she okay?" Danny asks.

"The fall caused a slight concussion." He tells them.

"That's not too bad." Jamie says.

"I'd like to talk to you for a moment Mr. Reagan." The doctor says to Frank.

The two men step into another room.

"I thought you said she just had a concussion." Frank says.

"That's not the concerning part." The doctor continues. "Her blood work came back. Her initial prognosis looks to be Leukemia. We need a bone marrow sample to confirm the diagnosis but it's very likely she will be diagnosed."

"What are you telling me, Doc." Frank asks although one part of him already knew.

"To put it in layman's terms." The doctor says. "Erin has cancer."


	2. Chapter 2

Cancer.

The word bounced around in his head. His baby girl had cancer. She couldn't have cancer. She was too young. Cancer was for old people. Erin wasn't old. She was young. She was vibrant and full of life. She could balance a full time demanding job with being a single mother to a child, whose father seemed disinterested in his child, all without breaking a sweat. Now she has to fight just to save herself.

"Her little scare earlier was caused by low oxygenated blood going to her brain. When the brain is deprived of oxygen it shuts down non essential systems to try and preserve itself. When Erin pushed into a full run her brain did have no oxygen to keep her arms and legs functional." The doctor explained.

"She asked for me." Frank said.

"She wouldn't have known you were even there with her. Her brain in trying to preserve itself blocked out any sights or sound." The doctor tried to explain.

"She kept saying Dad. Over and over again." Frank says to the doctor.

"Her brain was searching for something to try and calm her. You as her father are a great comfort to her." The doctor says.

Frank just nods.

"Can I see her?" He asks.

"Of course." The doctor says. "Right this way."

As Frank followed him he ponder on if he should tell the family. He decided against it. It was Erin's choice to tell them when she was ready.

Erin was awake when they reached the room. She was wearing a blue hospital gown and her lower half was covered with a blanket. She was looking straight ahead of her at the empty wall. Her eyes were glazed over and held sadness. She hears the door open. Glancing over she sees her father standing with the doctor. By the look in his eyes the doctor had told him the same thing he had told her. Frank quietly sits by Erin.

"I guess you've heard." Erin says.

Frank pulls her into a hug. For a moment Erin felt safe but that was quickly overtaken by a wave of fear. She felt her eyes well up with tears and before she knew it was crying into her father's chest for a second time that day.

She was scared. She was so scared. She couldn't be sick. She had daughter to take care of and a job to do. So many thoughts were running through her head. What if she didn't make it? Would Nicki go live with her father? She didn't want that. She wanted to be a place she would be cared for and would get all the attention she needed. After a few minutes of crying she could finally draw a breath.

"I'm scared Daddy." She whispers to him.

Frank was almost taken aback. Erin hadn't called him Daddy in years. He realizes right then he wasn't holding his grown up daughter instead he was holding a scared little girl.

"Does everyone else know?" Erin asks him.

"No." Frank tells her. "That should come from you."

"I need you to promise me something." Erin says. "In case I don't make it."

"Don't say that." Frank says. "You'll get through this."

"Dad please." She begs. "I need you to promise me something."

"Okay sweetheart. Anything." He says pulling her close.

"It's more of a question at first." She starts. "If I don't make it, will you make sure Jack doesn't take her. She deserves better than him."

"Of course sweetheart." He assures her.

"Onto my promise. Will you stay?" She asked him her voice starting to crack.

"Until the very end. I promise." Frank says kissing her head.

"Can you ask Nicki to come in?' Erin asks.

"You bet." He says standing up.

"One more thing before you go dad." She asks him as she walks away.

He turns back.

"You can tell the Reagans."

Nicki nervously stood outside her mother's room. Trying to brace herself for what she might see she takes a deep breath. SHe kept telling herself the only thing on the other side of that door was her mother. Judging by the sad look in her grandfather's eyes she knew something was very wrong. Drawing in a deep breath she enters the room.

Erin smiles when she sees her daughter. The thirteen year old cautiously made her way across the room to her mother's bed. Erin opens her arms for her baby. That gesture made everything inside Nicki that she been trying to hold onto come to the surface. As tears streamed down her face she crawled into her mother's open arms.

Trying to soothe her daughter Erin gently ran her fingers through her hair while rubbing her back.

"I'm scared Mom." Nicki sniffed. "I know something really bad is going on and no will tell me what."

The time Erin dreaded had arrived. It was time to tell Nicki.

"Do you understand what cancer is?" Erin asked her.

The thirteen year old was taken aback. Why would her mother ask about such things?

Nicki nods. "When people have cancer they get really sick and sometimes they..they.."

She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence. Swallowing a lump in her throat she asks.

"Mom, do you have cancer?"

Erin sadly nods. "This next part is only going to get harder to hear but I think you should hear it. I have a type of cancer called Leukemia. What that means is I have cancer in my white blood cells."

A tear rolls down her cheek Nicki asks her next question.

"Are you going to die?"

Erin although slightly taken aback was not shocked the question. A thirteen year old child wouldn't have much of a conception of what cancer really was.

"I will do everything I can to make sure I stay alive." Erin tries to assure her. "I want you to understand something. Cancer is not a garunteed death sentence. A lot of cancers are treatable. Mine is one those treatable ones. Things are going to change pretty fast and it's going to be scary but I promise you no matter what happens we'll get through it together."

Nicki snuggled deeper into her mother's arms. Erin could feel her tears soaking her gown. Erin could make her little muffled voice say..

"I love you, Mommy."

Erin pulls her baby closer to her.

"I love you too, baby girl." She gently whispers to her.

Telling the Reagans was not going to be easy and Frank knew this. He knew as soon as he walked into that room he'd be facing his father, his sons, his son's wife and his grandsons. He knew he would break some awful earth shattering news to them. Taking a deep breath he enters the room. They all stand when they see him.

"Her collpase was caused by low oxygen gettting to her brain." He tells knowing this was the easy part of the news.

"Why wouldn't she have enough oxygen?" Linda asks.

"Her blood tests show something wrong with her white blood cell count. They ran more tests and found out that she has Leukemia." He says those words burning his mouth

At first the room was silent until a wail filled it. Linda fell into a chair behind her and jst cried. Getting out a few words between the tears.

"It was just a race...just a race." She mutters out.

While Danny was trying to comfort her nearly fell apart himself. Jack and Sean didn't understand what was going on and would have to wait until later to have someone explain it. Jamie was suddenly light head. Frank steadied him before he fell. He could only mutter the word cancer over and over again. Henry just stared ahead not believing the words that were just told to him. Needing some air Frank decides to step outside.

He stands staring at the park across the street. His own tears finally allowed to fall freely dripped down his face. He remembered his promise to Erin.

He was going to be there. Until the very end.


	3. Chapter 3

One week later Erin was back at work. The doctor had told her to make sure she was working on an easy schedule. That day she her been there two hours and felt awful. Her head hurt. She was shaky. Her first treatment was scheduled for the next morning. She finally gave up on the file she was trying to read. Picking up her phone she dials a number.

"Reagan." The voice on the phone answered.

"Dad." Erin says. "Will you come get me?"

"Of course sweetheart. I'll be there in 20 minutes." Frank tells her.

They both hang up the phone. Erin collects her thing and pulls on her coat. A shiver goes up hey spin. Pulling her coat closer she goes to the elevator. She pressed the button then rubbed her temples. With a ding the elevator open.

Erin looked into the elevator and saw the single occupant. Sighing internally she stepped in. She was sharing her ride with Kelly Blake. She was too tired to make small talk and just rode in silence. A pain in her head that seemingly came out of nowhere nearly knocked Erin off her feet. She felt a pair of hands steady her. Her head hurt so bad she couldn't stay on her feet. Kelly helps her lower herself to the ground before she fell.

"Are you okay?" Kelly asks her.

"Yeah." Erin says. "My head feels like it was hit by a train."

Kelly pulls a blue water bottle out of her bag. She carefully kneels by Erin.

"Here." She says. "Drink this. It'll help the dehydration."

Erin takes the water in her shaky hand. When she took a drink the cold water instantly made her feel better.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Erin asks.

Kelly slides to the floor next to her. "I know how it feels to go through what you're going through."

Erin was surprised. "What do you mean?"

"Three years ago I had lymphoma. I could tell you had just gotten diagnosed." Kelly tells her. "Trying to not like you is getting tiring. Can we start over?"

Erin thought about the offer.

"Yeah." Erin says. "We can."

With a ding the elevator opened. Kelly helped Erin to her feet.

"I hope you're not driving." Kelly says.

"My dad is coming." Erin responds.

"I'll stay with you until he gets here." Kelly offered.

"You don't have to do that." Erin says.

"I want to." She said.

The two women sit on a bench to wait. Erin rubs her temples. Frank got there a few minutes later with his detail. He thanked Kelly for staying with her and helped her into the car.

During the ride Erin had her head resting on the window. Frank watched her as her head would bob as her eyes kept sliding shut. He knew she was trying to stay awake until they got to her apartment.

Erin wanted so badly to close her eyes but she wanted to wait until she got to her apartment. She looked outside to distract herself but it kept going dark as her eyes slid shut. Finally as the driver pulled up an intersection her eyes slid shut again and they did not open.

After watching his daughter finally succumb to sleep Frank told his driver to just go to his house. They pull up to the house fifteen minutes later. Frank considered waking Erin but she seemed to be sleeping semi peacefully. Carefully he wrapped his arms around her and took her to her room.

The day of Erin's first treatment came quicker she wanted. She was afraid. She was very afraid. That morning she lay in bed staring at her ceiling. She was very nervous for the day ahead. With a sigh she climbed out of bed. She walked down the dark hallway to Nicki's room. She could hear Nicki's snoring from the other side of her closed door. Erin couldn't help but chuckle.

"She's a carbon copy of me but snores like her uncles." Erin said to no one in particular.

Erin went to the kitchen. Pouring herself a cup of coffee she picks up her phone that was plugged in on the counter. She found a text from her father on the screen.

"I'll be by around ten to pick you up." The message said.

Placing her coffee mug on the counter she responds to the text. While she typed she heard footsteps coming into the kitchen. Turning around she saw her tired preteen walk into the room.

"Good Morning sweetheart." Erin greets her.

"Morning Mom." Nicki mumbled as she pulled out the carton of juice. "Are you nervous about today?"

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't." Erin admitted.

The room was quiet for a few minutes before Nicki broke the silence.

"I don't want to live with Dad." Nicki said out loud.

Taking a deep breath Erin sets her mug on the counter.

"Why is that, honey?" Erin asks.

"I know it's an awful thing to say. He's my dad and I love him but he treats me like a plan that can be rescheduled. He constantly cancels and says he'll make it up to me but never does. When you guys divorced he didn't even fight for me." Nicki said her eyes started to well with tears.

Erin pulls her baby into her arms.

"Please don't die Mommy." The thirteen year old chokes out.

"I promise you that I will fight my hardest to stay with you and if I don't make it I promise you won't have to live with your father if you don't want to." Erin said trying to comfort her daughter.

"Thanks Mom." The girl said.

Over the next few hours both of them had gotten cleaned up and ready for the day. By 7:30 Nicki was on her way out the door for her normal walk to school. Erin watched from the window as Nicki caught up to her friends and the adult who's turn it was to walk the girls to school that day. By 8:00 Erin was ready to go. As she sat on her couch boredom was over taking the nervousness. To alleviate it she flipped open her sketchbook.

Erin had always been good at drawing. When she was a teenager sketching helped clear her mind. As she grew up she had less and less time to sketch. She flipped open the book and began to start a sketch of Danny and Jamie. She got lost in what she was doing and didn't even notice the time starting to move quicker. Her father ringing the bell scared the daylights out of her.

She buzzes him into the building. While he came up she pulled on her shoes. She slipped on her coat and met him at the door.

"Ready?" He asks her.

"I guess so." She tells him.

The two go down to Frank's detail. Erin was expecting this to be their ride. What she wasn't expecting was that Baker was in the car. The two climb in next to her.

Erin and Baker sat in the back while Frank rode up front.

"He asked me to come." Baker said looking straight ahead.

"I didn't think you asked to come." Erin responds.

"Lung cancer." Baker said. "I had lung cancer. When I was going through my treatments people would always try to sympathize and all it would do would make me mad. They had no idea what it was like to have to fight for every breathe or how much pain I was constantly in. I just wanted to scream but all I was ever told was that it would be over soon. So that's why I'm here. What you're about to go through is going to to, excuse my language, suck. Your father doesn't know what it's like but I do. I'm going to be your person. If you want to a scream, scream. If you want to complain by all means complain."

"Thank you." Erin says.

"You're welcome." Baker says as they reach the cancer center.

Erin always wondered how her father knew exactly what she needed. She didn't know Baker well but it brought some comfort that she knew what it was like to go through something like this. As they sat in the waiting room Erin's eyes began to slide shut. She hadn't even noticed she had put her head on Baker's shoulder.

The brunette lawyer slept on the blond detective shoulder until she was called for her appointment. She groggily stood up and followed the nurse.

In the hours following her appointment Frank had dropped her off at her apartment against his better judgment. She dragged herself up the stairs wincing in pain from her newly inserted chemo port. The port had been placed on her right side and it hurt to even move her arm. Her laptop bag was on left shoulder. Her head throbbed as she dug out her keys. The only thing on her mind was the warm embrace of her bed. She wrestles the key in the lock. Her shaky hands did not make this task easy.

Frustration overcame her as she could not get the key into the lock. Tears pricked her eyes the more she persisted. In a wave of complete frustration she throws the keys to the ground and turned around. To her surprise she collided with a pair of open arms. Erin could tell from the smell of coffee and cheap cologne the arms belonged to Danny.

Putting one arm around his shaking sister Danny picked up her keys and opened the door. Wordlessly he placed her bag on her shoulder and picked her up off her feet. He noted she was giving off a lot of body heat indicticating a possible fever. He carried her inside and right to her bedroom.

"Thank you Danny." Erin mutters out with her eyes closed.

"Always sis."


	4. Chapter 4

Danny knew weight loss was normal with people who are sick. What he wasn't expecting was how light his sister had gotten. He had gotten a text from his dad asking him if he could stay with Erin for awhile. He had found her at her front door frustrated that she couldn't get the key in the lock. He unlocked the door for her and carried her to bed. As he carried he noticed that she was thinner than the last time he remembered and for someone who was almost six foot she weighed almost nothing.

While she slept he took a look around her apartment. A layer of dust had begun to settle on the flat surfaces. There were a few plates stacked in the sink. On the couch was a basket of unfolded clothes. This concerned Danny. His sister had always kept her things incredibly neat. Her bedroom growing up was always organized, a habit she took into her adult life. Something was nagging at him. He couldn't quite put his finger on it.

His thoughts were interrupted by the door opening. Glancing over he saw his niece come through the door. Judging by the backpack on her shoulders and her slightly disheveled school uniform he could postulate that she was returning from a long day at school. Danny also noted the bags starting to form under the young preteen's eyes and the tired look in her eyes.

She muttered out a quick hello to her uncle and made a beeline from the bathroom down the hall. Danny couldn't help but chuckle at Nicki's first stop. When Erin was in school she always had practices of some sort after school and due to her dislike of public bathrooms she almost always made a beeline for the bathroom when she got home. A few minutes later Nicki reappeared in the kitchen immediately looking for a snack.

"How's Mom doing today?" Nicki asks while pulling out an orange from the refrigerator.

"Her first treatment was today." Danny explains. "She's going to be out of it for awhile."

Nicki nods while inhaling her orange. Danny noticed how hungry she was. He knew when he was a teenager he could inhale food something he wasn't sure he ever grew out of. His sister and niece however always ate like birds. They never really needed a lot of food to be full. This made Nicki's inhaling of her orange that much stranger.

"Nicki, did you eat today?" Danny asks.

"Yeah." she said. "I bought lunch today but it wasn't that satisfying."

"What about breakfast?" He asks as she retrieved another orange from the refrigerator.

"There wasn't much here for breakfast." Nicki explains.

"What do you normally eat for breakfast?" Danny asks.

"Usually I like yogurt and granola." Nicki tells him. "Mom says a good day starts with a good breakfast but we ran out of yogurt a few days ago. Mom also makes oatmeal sometimes but I don't think we had any of that either."

What was nagging at him soon became clear. Erin was very sick. This was going to affect day to day life. Something he was sure she could handle and try to live with. This was going to take all her effort to do but what about the person who depended on her, the person she loved the most in the world? What was going to happen when she could no longer care for her daughter?

While Danny was lost in his thoughts Nicki had opened her backpack to start her homework. Pulling out a pre algebra book she settled in at the table. Danny sits in the chair across from her. He pulled out his phone and sent a few messages while Nicki worked on her homework. They stayed like this until the sound of retching from down the hall got both of their attention. Danny stood up and went to check on his sister.

He found her in her bathroom kneeling in front of the toilet emptying her already empty stomach into the toilet. He hair fell into her face as she leaned over the pot. Kneeling beside her he carefully pulled her hair back out of the path of the projectile.

Once the heaving stopped Erin moved from in front of the toilet to leaning against the wall. Her skin had turned red and was flushed with tears. Danny could see the pain in her eyes.

"It hurts Danny."

Pulling her into his arms the two sat in silence in the small bathroom. Danny knew there wasn't much he could say to make her feel better. All he could do was pray.

-BB-

The clock sitting on the mantel read 11:35pm. Sitting in the chair across the room was Frank. He was as the red hot coals crackle as the evening fire was in it's last stages. His eyes were glazed over as he was lost in his thoughts. His father was long asleep upstairs, he knew he should be but sleep didn't come easy. He had been pacing for almost an hour. The sound of footsteps creaking down the stairs got his attention. He looks at the door where his father had appeared.

"What are you doing up, Francis?" His father asks settling into his own chair.

"Can I ask you something Pop?" Frank asks.

"Of course." Henry says.

"When Joseph got sick, did you ever ask god if you could take his place?" Frank says staring at the coals.

"Everyday." Henry says. "The kind of pain you see in your child's eyes is worse than other pain you'll ever feel."

"Did you ever feel like it was your fault?" Frank asks.

"Francis, I don't know why he made Erin sick." Henry tells him. "I don't know why he wants to take her so soon. What I do know is, Erin is still here. I also know is that she needs you, I won't lie. Watching her go through this will slowly kill you inside. It's going to be a place that the depths of hell would be preferable to. You'll want to be strong. You'll want to be her brave father but please remember you are human and I know you're hurting and you're allowed to hurt."

Hearing these words from his father felt like it validated what he was feeling. The tears burning his eyes spilled over. Every emotion he was holding onto came to the surface. He closed his eyes and wiped them away only to have new tears replace them. He felt his father's arm wrap around him.

"He won't take her, Francis." Henry whispers. "You both have to believe that."


End file.
